About

We meet every Thursday at 7 p.m. at 4200 Cedar #4 Minneapolis, MN 55407. New members are always welcome.

Our Mission

The Minnesota Anti-War Committee began in December 1998 with 13 people who committed civil disobedience to protest the bombing of Iraq. We organize vigils, rallies, marches, educational forums, street theater, and civil disobedience actions to challenge the injustices of U.S. foreign policy. We believe in peace through justice, and we stand in solidarity with oppressed people here and abroad.

The Anti-War Committee works against direct US intervention around the world, including the inhumane use of drones to terrorize civilian populations. Our work to resist political repression began when the FBI raided our office and the homes of many of our members and friends in September 2010. Because Israel is the top recipient of US military aid (supporting apartheid, last Summer’s horrific bombing campaign against Gaza, and the occupation the Palestinian people have been resisting for 65 years), ending US aid to Israel is at the top of our agenda.

In addition to working for a just foreign policy, the Anti-War Committee is committed to justice in this country. We support the Black Lives Matter movement and an end to racist police violence. We support the Welfare Rights Committee, the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Coalition and the Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Minnesota. We support justice for all, regardless of sexual orientation, and make Twin Cities GLBT Pride our biggest outreach event of the year.

More about us and our history

The Minnesota Anti-War Committee began in December 1998 with 13 people who committed civil disobedience to protest the bombing of Iraq. We organize vigils, rallies, marches, educational forums, street theater, and civil disobedience actions to challenge the injustices of U.S. foreign policy. We believe in peace through justice, and we stand in solidarity with oppressed people here and abroad.

Our organizing began out of mobilizing against the war in Iraq. Twelve years after the U.S. invasion of Baghdad in 2003, Iraqis are still oppressed by a government propped up by the US that ignores their basic needs and denies them real decision-making power. The ongoing presence of US troops speaks to the US government’s continued imperialism. According to Just Foreign Policy.org over 1 million Iraqis have died from U.S. warfare, and over 4, 000 Americans have been killed. Over $555 billion dollars have been spent on military operations while 50 percent of Iraqis are unemployed, disease is rampant, and electricity is scarce. Iraq’s oil has been privatized while the majority of its citizens remain poor, disempowered and fearful.

The Anti-War Committee opposed the Iraq war before it began, and does not believe a continued occupation is justified. We oppose non-binding timetables for troop withdrawal that also provide additional funding for the war. We challenge Democrats, who gained a Congressional majority on the strength of the anti-war vote, to end this war by cutting off funding. They cannot truly oppose the war while continuing to fund it. Politicians not endorsing immediate withdrawal suggest the situation will worsen if Americans leave. We disagree. For peace and justice to prevail in Iraq, the troops must withdraw now. Every day that U.S. troops remain, more Americans and Iraqis are killed. The occupation is fueling the insurgency rather than eliminating it. Sectarian conflict has increased dramatically since the war began, as civilians must choose sides between the occupiers and the resistance. Iraqis increasingly recognize American troops as imperialist forces sent to seize power and resources. On May 8, 2007 144 Iraqi members of the Iraqi Parliament signed a resolution rejecting U.S. occupation. Seventy percent of Iraqi civilians want U.S. troops to leave, according to worldpublicopinion.org. The Anti-War Committee supports Iraq’s right of self-determination. The security situation following a U.S. withdrawal may pose a challenge for the Iraqi government, but we believe Iraqis have the right to determine their future.

Just as we oppose the U.S. occupation of Iraq, we also oppose the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Land confiscation, harassment at checkpoints, and violent abuse from Israeli soldiers are part of daily Palestinian life. Civilians, including women and children, are regularly killed by the Israeli military. Home demolitions have left thousands of Palestinians homeless, contributing to a refugee population of 4.6 million. This oppression is aided by $3 billion per year in U.S. tax dollars. Israel currently receives more U.S. aid than any other country, despite involvement in human rights abuses and violations of international law. The Anti-War Committee supports the Palestinian right to return, the dismantling of illegal Israeli settlements, and an end to construction of an “apartheid wall” currently being built on Palestinian land. We believe the Middle East will never experience peace until the Israeli occupation of Palestine ends. Therefore, we oppose all aid to Israel. Our work on this issue includes protests, educational forums and solidarity trips to Palestine.

Several members of the Anti-War Committee have also traveled to Colombia to witness the effects of U.S. imperialism. Colombia has the worst human rights record in the Western Hemisphere and is the most dangerous place in the world to be a trade unionist. Union organizers, human rights workers and student activists are routinely targeted with brutal violence simply because they work for social change. The U.S. has given over $5 billion to the Colombian government since 2000. This money is used by the army and by paramilitary death squads to wage war on the Colombian people. We oppose all aid to the Colombian government and support the Colombian people’s right to resist.

In addition to working for a just foreign policy, the Anti-War Committee is committed to justice in this country. We support the Black Lives Matter movement and an end to racist police violence. We support the Welfare Rights Committee, the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Coalition and the Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Minnesota. We support justice for all, regardless of sexual orientation, and make Twin Cities GLBT Pride our biggest outreach event of the year.

We meet every Thursday at 7 p.m. at 4200 Cedar #4 Minneapolis, MN 55407. New members are always welcome.